{"id":585080,"date":"2026-05-15T07:31:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T07:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/585080\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T07:31:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T07:31:11","slug":"review-panopticon-det-hjemsokte-hjertet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/585080\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Panopticon – Det Hjems\u00f8kte Hjertet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Published by Andy<\/a> on 2026\/05\/142026\/05\/14<\/p>\n

\"\"Artwork by: Austin Lunn<\/p>\n

Style: Folk Black Metal, Post-Black Metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Wolves in the Throne Room, Agalloch, Saor<\/a>
Country: United States
Release date: 8 May 2026<\/p>\n

Over the last few decades, as it propagated globally from its Scandinavian roots, each new place has embedded its own local characteristics\u2014musical and philosophical\u2014into black metal, turning the entire genre into a syncretic endeavor. Exemplary of this phenomenon, Panopticon, Austin Lunn\u2019s black metal band,1<\/a> is American black metal at its finest, as well as a timeline of Lunn\u2019s experiences as a person.2<\/a> Moving across the United States since the band\u2019s inception, from Kentucky to Ely, Minnesota, Lunn has left each region\u2019s fingerprint in the sound of Panopticon albums;3<\/a> and since Lunn has lived in several culturally disparate parts of the country, Panopticon embodies America\u2019s \u201cgreat melting pot\u201d ethos. Over the past five years, Lunn has delved into his relationship with northern Minnesota across the now-complete Laurentian Trilogy. \u2026And Again into the Light thematically explores catharsis; The Rime of Memory deals with the world\u2019s ecological catastrophe; and now Det Hjems\u00f8kte Hjertet4<\/a> wrestles with the philosophy that we are all the sum of our lived experiences. Altogether, the Laurentian Trilogy is primed to be the pinnacle of American black metal, Det Hjems\u00f8kte Hjertet its crowning jewel, an amalgamation of wintry tremolos, American folk elements, and deep introspection on what it means to be a contiguous soul.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The striking difference between Det Hjems\u00f8kte Hjertet and previous albums in the Trilogy is the amount of emphasis placed on string arrangements; warm cellos, violins, and violas swim through the sonic ether, playing the majority of melodies on the record with their rich tones. Additionally, the addition of lap and pedal steel bestow an Americana tonality, and only occasionally are the distorted guitars permitted to take over; when not relegated to non-background tremolo usage they become heavy metal harmonizers to the voluptuous orchestral presence. \u201cWoodland Caribou\u201d opens the album with several minutes of isolated string orchestration and powerful harsh vocals until a storm of metal finally rips the track in twain. Once Det Hjems\u00f8kte Hjertet gets going, the record evokes a violent blizzard, its tracks choked by a constant hail of tremolo picks and blast beats\u2014the swollen string sections laying like a fresh blanket of snow atop the metallic base. Tracks like \u201cThe Great Silence, Extinct\u201d and \u201cA Culture of Wilderness\u201d are, for the majority of the time, ripping black metal tracks, although the lead riffs, atypically, are performed entirely by string ensemble. Rarely does Det Hjems\u00f8kte Hjertet silence the orchestra, resulting in Det Hjems\u00f8kte Hjertet being an extremely dense record\u2014I found myself buried in its atmosphere for hours on end, ensnared by the lushness of the omnipresent strings.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Although culturally distinct, Cascadia and northern Minnesota share key similarities: Scandinavian heritage and a spiritual connection to nature. I\u2019m unsurprised to hear a strong Cascadian black metal influence in Lunn\u2019s songwriting and production. The winding songs utilize post-rock crescendoing, metal elements that are so atmospherically focused as to be nearly a background texture, and a desolate folkiness inspired by the virgin forests and wild mountains\u2014Det Hjems\u00f8kte Hjertet shares a lot in common with Agalloch or Wolves in the Throne Room. Centerpiece highlight \u201cThe White Cedars\u201d melds relentless blast beats, cello solos, and quietly mixed harsh vocals with ease\u2014the choral vocals and lamenting clean vocal chants complete the sound. The songwriting on the record is repetitious, particularly on a micro scale, Lunn playing the same riff or idea for minutes at a time, unvarying but for addition\u00a0 or removal of instrumental layers. This songwriting style allows for some extraordinarily massive payoffs\u2014like the guitar solo at the end of \u201cThe Great Silence, Extinct\u201d or the emotional release the clean vocals at the end \u201cThe White Cedars\u201d provides. Unfortunately, as each song plays with crescendos and extended repetition in similar ways, the resulting climaxes become predictable\u2014even if they\u2019re individually sublime.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stereo production allows the various string parts to interact across channels, often harmonizing one guitar with another across the sonic space or having a cello drift between the two sides. The production is warm with soft edges, and yet the music has that air of detachment I feel when listening to Cascadian black metal\u2014like a log fire in a remote cabin while the world outside is painted white. I feel the final major theme of Det Hjems\u00f8kte Hjertet and the Trilogy as a whole in this dichotomy: This record is a warning about isolation, the modern world is losing its sense of community, its warmth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Det Hjems\u00f8kte Hjertet is wrought with emotion: existentialism, anguish, and a yearning for solidarity. These feelings bleed through the instrumentation by virtue of the songwriting, appearing in the swelling crescendos and explosions of black metal. The cleans, used sparsely, are unwaveringly touching, the morose singing with a distinctive twang that opens \u201cGhost Eyes in the Fire Light\u201d claiming my favorite instance. Vocals become a community endeavor on Det Hjems\u00f8kte Hjertet, as Lunn enlists the help of seven friends to provide clean and harsh vocals throughout the album. However, the emotional overload is at once the album\u2019s strongest aspect and its weakest. When so much of the record is drowned in constant layers of beautiful, enveloping strings or heaven-sending blast beats, the emotional impact is lessened; listening to Det Hjems\u00f8kte Hjertet is taxing. More breathing room, like that on \u201cLyset,\u201d would moderate Det Hjems\u00f8kte Hjertet. This excess of strong emotion contrasts with previous entries in the Trilogy: \u201cWinter\u2019s Ghost\u201d opened The Rime of Memory with eight minutes of sparse folk before reaching its first sublime peaks, whereas \u201cWoodland Caribou\u201d immediately lays on the thick layers of strings and pained harshes\u2014the new record borders on indulgent.<\/p>\n

From the hushed strings and crackling campfire that open Det Hjems\u00f8kte Hjertet to the bird calls and haunting strings that close it, Panopticon have written one of the most impressive series of black metal albums America\u2014nay, the world\u2014has ever seen. The album undoubtedly reaches the peaks of the Laurentian mountains and then continues upwards as the blast beats burst heavenward. Det Hjems\u00f8kte Hjertet is both bone-chilling and cozy, destructively violent and restorative. In a career full of outstanding albums, Lunn has continued to grow, and from that maturation Det Hjems\u00f8kte Hjertet is a beautiful ode to black metal, to all of the parts that constitute Lunn as a person, and to the natural beauty of Ely. What a fitting end to the Laurentian Trilogy.<\/p>\n

Recommended tracks: Woodland Caribou, Blood and Fur upon the Melting Snow, The White Cedars, Ghost Eyes in the Fire Light
You may also like: Skagos, Falls of Rauros, Wayfarer, Kaatayra<\/a>, Musk Ox
Final verdict: 8.5\/10<\/p>\n

Related links: Bandcamp<\/a> | Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n

Label: Bindrune Recordings<\/a><\/p>\n

Panopticon is:
\u2013 Austin Lunn: vocals, guitar, bass, drums, keys, pedal steel, lap steel, wood flute, samples and sound collage
With guests:
\u2013 Charlie Anderson: violin, viola, cello, additional choir vocals
\u2013 Alex CF: harsh vocals on \u201cWoodland Caribou\u201d
\u2013 Aaron Charles: harsh vocals on \u201cThe Great Silence, Extinct\u201d
\u2013 Andy Klockow: clean vocals on \u201cBlood and Fur Upon The Melting Snow\u201d
\u2013 Jan Even \u00c5sli: clean vocals on \u201cThe White Cedars\u201d
\u2013 Jan Van Berlekom: clean and harsh vocals on \u201cA Culture Of Wilderness\u201d
\u2013 Jordan Day: clean vocals on \u201cGhost Eyes In The Fire Light\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n